Formation of active area using semiconductor growth process without STI integration

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device can be formed without use of an STI process. An insulating layer is formed over a semiconductor body. Portions of the insulating layer are removed to expose the semiconductor body, e.g., to expose bare silicon. A semiconductor material, e.g., silicon, is grown over the exposed semiconductor body. A device, such as a transistor, can then be formed in the grown semiconductor material.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to semiconductor devices andmore particularly to the formation of an active area using asemiconductor growth process without STI integration.

BACKGROUND

Semiconductor integrated circuits include many devices formed on asemiconductor body, such as a substrate. These devices, such astransistors, are formed in active areas in the semiconductor body. Theactive areas are typically isolated from one another by insulatingregions. For example, for semiconductor devices formed with dimensionsgreater than 0.5 μm typically use field oxide isolation, known as LOCOS.Smaller dimension integrated circuits, such as those of 0.25 μm andbelow, typically use shallow trench isolation (STI).

FIGS. 1 a–1 c illustrate a typical process for forming shallow trenchisolated active areas 20. As shown in FIG. 1 a, a semiconductorsubstrate 10 is provided. A masking layer 12, typically a combination ofsilicon nitride and oxide layers, is formed over the substrate 10.Openings 14 are formed in the masking layer 12 in the areas where theisolation will be formed. While not shown, standard photoresistlithography (e.g., using a hardmask for 90 nm and below) is used.

Referring now to FIG. 1 b, trenches 16 are etched using the maskinglayer 12 as a mask. The portions 20 of the semiconductor substrate 10adjacent the trenches 16 will be the active areas. Transistors and otherdevices can be formed in the active areas 20. As shown in FIG. 1 c, thetrenches 16 are filled with an insulating material in order to isolatethe devices in the active areas from one another.

One issue for shallow trench isolation is the trench filling. A highdensity plasma (HDP) is widely used for this process. Many processconditions have been tried for optimization. As the top trench criticaldimension (CD) is getting smaller, however, the HDP deposition isbecoming very difficult due to voids that are formed. These issues onlyget worse as the CD goes from 90 nm and smaller and as the STI depthgets deeper for better isolation. A typical measurement is the aspectratio (AR), which is defined as STI depth over CD width. Conventionalwisdom is that oxide filling is getting more difficult as the AR goesabove 3.

To avoid these problems, the main focus has been directed to modifyingthe process conditions and the combination of deposition and etch back.In other processes, low K dielectrics have been used due to their betterreflow characteristics. The thinking is that better reflowcharacteristics will lead to better fill characteristics. Unfortunately,low k dielectrics have problems of their own.

Another problem with STI is that it involves many process steps: onemasking step, one RIE, a liner oxide, fill, CMP and many cleans. Agreater number of process steps leads to a higher cost. Therefore, aneed has arisen for a lower cost process that avoids the problems ofshallow trench isolation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These and other problems are generally solved or circumvented, andtechnical advantages are generally achieved, by preferred embodiments ofthe present invention which provides for the formation of an active areausing a semiconductor growth process.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, asemiconductor device is formed without use of an STI process. Aninsulating layer is formed over a semiconductor body. Portions of theinsulating layer are removed to expose the semiconductor body, e.g., toexpose bare silicon. A semiconductor material, e.g., silicon, is grownepitaxially over the exposed semiconductor body. A device, such as atransistor, can then be formed in the grown semiconductor material.

In accordance with another preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, a semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate anda number of active areas formed of semiconductor material and locatedabove the semiconductor substrate. Each active area has an interface atthe substrate where semiconductor material of the active area touchessemiconductor material of the substrate. A plurality of isolationregions are disposed above the substrate and adjacent the active areasso that each active area is isolated from another active area by anisolation region. Transistors, or other devices, can be formed in theactive areas.

An advantage of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is thatwith the elimination of the STI process, a number of complications canbe avoided. For example, trench fill issues do not exist since theinsulating layer is formed as a blanket layer. Further, there is no needto employ sublithography techniques or fill trenches with newdielectrics. The process of the preferred embodiment is simple andrequires fewer steps than currently used isolation techniques.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and theadvantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptionstaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 a–1 c are cross-sectional views of a conventional process flow;

FIGS. 2 a–2 f are cross-sectional views of a process flow of thepreferred embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates a alternative structure; and

FIGS. 4 a–4 b show alternative embodiment process steps.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

The making and using of the presently preferred embodiments arediscussed in detail below. It should be appreciated, however, that thepresent invention provides many applicable inventive concepts that canbe embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specificembodiments discussed are merely illustrative of specific ways to makeand use the invention, and do not limit the scope of the invention.

The present invention will be described with respect to preferredembodiments in a specific context, namely a the formation of an activearea using a semiconductor growth process without STI integration. Inthe preferred embodiment, the invention includes a silicon substrateover which a silicon layer is grown and serves as the active areas fordevice formation. As discussed below, the invention may also be appliedto other materials and substrates.

FIGS. 2 a–2 f show cross-sectional views of an exemplary process flowthat will be used to describe the steps of the preferred embodiment ofthe invention. Referring first to FIG. 2 a, a semiconductor body 30 isprovided. In the preferred embodiment, the semiconductor body comprisesa monocrystalline silicon substrate. In other embodiments, othersemiconductors such as germanium, silicon-germanium, gallium arsenide(and others) can be used. Further, the semiconductor body 30 can be abulk substrate, a layer over a substrate (e.g., an silicon-on-insulatoror epitaxially grown layer), or a region within a layer (e.g., a well ora tub).

An insulating layer 32 is formed over the semiconductor body 30. In thepreferred embodiment, an oxide layer is deposited. For example, silicondioxide can be deposited by high density plasma deposition, chemicalvapor deposition, the decomposition of tetraethyloxysilane (TEOS) orother processes. Thermally grown oxides are also possible. The oxide canbe a doped material such as borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG), boronsilicate glass (BSG), phosphosilicate glass (PSG), or fluorinatedsilicate glass (FSG), as examples. Materials other than oxides can alsobe used. For example insulating layer 32 can be a nitride, anoxynitride, or a high dielectric constant (high k) material (e.g.,Ta₂O₅, HfO₂, or HfSiON). Preferably, a high k material has a dielectricconstant greater than about 5 (where the dielectric constant of a vacuumis 1). While illustrated as a single layer, it is understood thatmultilayer dielectric structures could equally be used.

Referring next to FIG. 2 b, a photoresist layer 34 is deposited andpatterned using standard photolithography techniques. Either positive ornegative resists can be used. The mask 34 will be patterned so as tocover the portions of the insulating layer 32 that will become theinsulating regions 36. FIG. 2 c shows the structure after the etching isperformed and the photoresist 34 is removed. At this stage, it ispreferable that bare silicon from substrate 30 be exposed. Theinsulating layer 32 is preferably etched using a reactive ion etchingprocess. The exposed portions 38 will serve as the seed layer for thegrowth of the active areas, which is illustrated in FIG. 2 d.

Referring now to FIG. 2 d, silicon layer 40 is grown over the exposedportions 38 of semiconductor body 30 to completely fill the trenchesbetween the insulating regions 36. In the preferred embodiment, anepitaxial growth technique is used.

In the preferred embodiment, a silicon layer 40 is grown over a siliconbody 30. In this case, the semiconductor material of the body 30 is thesame as the semiconductor material of the grown layer 40. In otherembodiments, however, this need not be the case. For example, to form astrained semiconductor layer, a layer of silicon can be grown over asilicon-germanium body 30. e.g., a silicon germanium substrate or asilicon-germanium layer over a substrate. In other examples, othercombinations of materials are possible.

In the preferred embodiment, the insulating layer 32 was formed to athickness of between about 100 nm and 500 nm, preferably about 300 nm.In other embodiments, the thickness can be greater (e.g., up to about2000 nm) or thinner (e.g., down to about 10 nm). The silicon layer 40 ispreferably grown to about this same thickness. In a less preferredembodiment, the silicon 40 can be grown above the level of the insulator36 and a further insulator deposition (not shown) can be performed tofill the regions over the insulator 36.

Referring now to FIG. 2 e, the top surface of the silicon layer 40 isplanarized to be substantially planar with the top surface of insulatingregions 36. The portions 42 of the silicon layer 40 that remain betweenthe insulating regions 36 can be used as active areas. While it ispreferable that the active areas 42 and insulating regions 36 areco-planar, this is not required. The planarization step is preferablyperformed using a chemical-mechanical polish (CMP). Other planarizationtechniques, such as etch back, can alternatively be used. In analternate embodiment, a thermal oxide (not shown) can be grown over theactive area 42 and then removed to get a fresh silicon surface.

In an alternate embodiment, which is illustrated in FIG. 3, the siliconlayer 40 is grown to thickness less than that of the insulator 36. Thisprocess can be used to avoid the planarization step shown in FIG. 2 e.The difference in height will be limited by the capability of laterinsulator deposition processes to fully cover the topography of thestructure. FIG. 3 illustrates but one example of how the top surface ofactive area 42 is not co-planar with the top surface of insulatingregion 36. For example, the step height can be similar to that achievedafter the standard STI process.

Comparing the structure of FIG. 2 e with that of FIG. 1 c, it is seenthat the active areas 42 of the present invention can be used in thesame manner as active areas 20 of the prior art. Unlike the structure ofFIG. 1 c, the embodiment of FIG. 2 e will include an interface 44between the semiconductor body 30 and the active areas 42. Preferably, ahigh quality film 40 was grown and as a result the interface should beminimized (e.g., the grown film 40 and the substrate 30 should appear tobe a single layer). As such, it is preferable that the interface44between the substrate 30 and active area 42 be undetectable in across-sectional view, e.g., using a TEM or SEM micrograph. Certainly,however, the interface 44 will be detectable if the substrate 30 andactive area 42 are formed from different materials.

The interface between the semiconductor body 30 and the insulatingregion 36, however, will be very smooth compared to the interfacebetween the STI insulator 18 and the substrate 20 of FIG. 1 c. In theprior art, the trench 16 is etched and, as a result, a smooth interfaceis not possible. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, on the other hand, notrench is ever etched into the substrate and therefore a smootherinterface is possible.

FIG. 2 f is provided to illustrate a device 46, in this case a MOStransistor, that is formed in the active area 42. In a typicalembodiment, many transistors (e.g., thousands or millions) are formed ona single chip. In the case of a CMOS device, some of the active areas 42are doped with n-type impurities and others of the active areas aredoped with p-type impurities. As is known in the art, n-channeltransistors are formed in the p-doped active areas and p-channeltransistors and formed in the n-doped active areas. In an alternativeembodiment, other types of devices such as bipolar transistors,capacitors and resistors, as examples, are formed in and above theactive areas 42.

As noted above, the device 46 that is illustrated in FIG. 2 f is a MOStransistor. As is known in the art, an MOS transistor 46 includes asource region 48 and a drain region 50 disposed within the semiconductormaterial of the active area 42 and a gate electrode 52 disposed over thesemiconductor material of the active area 42. The transistor can formedusing known processing steps. Other MOS transistors, e.g., with a buriedgate, can also be used.

As illustrated by the example above, aspects of the present inventionhelp to solve problems associated with STI formation by forming activeareas by use of selective silicon epitaxy. In this example, no trenchfilling is needed because the silicon for the active area grows updirectly from the substrate. With this embodiment, the total number ofprocess steps can be reduced by fifty percent.

FIGS. 4 a and 4 b illustrate an alternate embodiment where a shallowrecess 48 is formed in the semiconductor body 30 before the insulatinglayer 32 is formed. FIG. 4 a shows the semiconductor body with recesses48 and FIG. 4 b shows the structure after the insulating 32 has beenetched (i.e., at the same point in the process as is illustrated in FIG.2 c). This alternate embodiment is less preferred because additionalmasking and etching steps are required to form the recesses 48.

While this invention has been described with reference to illustrativeembodiments, this description is not intended to be construed in alimiting sense. Various modifications and combinations of theillustrative embodiments, as well as other embodiments of the invention,will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to thedescription. It is therefore intended that the appended claims encompassany such modifications or embodiments.

1. A method of forming a semiconductor device, the method comprising:providing a semiconductor body having a top surface; forming recesses insaid top surface of said semiconductor body; formning an insulatinglayer over the semiconductor body, said insulating layer filling saidrecesses; removing portions of the insulating layer to expose said topsurface of the semiconductor body, between said recesses and to defineremaining portions of said insulating layer, said remaining portions ofsaid insulating layer extending to a selected thickness above said topsurface of said semiconductor body; growing a semiconductor materialover the exposed top surface of said semiconductor body and between saidremaining portions; bridging an interface formed between thesemiconductor body and the semiconductor material grown over saidsemiconductor body with said remaining portions of said insulatinglayer; and forming a device in the grown semiconductor material.
 2. Themethod of claim 1 wherein providing a semiconductor body comprisesproviding a bare silicon substrate.
 3. The method of claim 1 whereinforming an insulating layer comprises forming an oxide layer.
 4. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the insulating layer comprises a high kdielectric layer.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the material of thesemiconductor body is the same material as the semiconductor material.6. The method of claim 1 wherein removing portions of the insulatinglayer comprises etching a plurality of trenches in the insulating layerbetween a pair of said recesses, and wherein growing a semiconductormaterial comprises completely filling the trenches.
 7. The method ofclaim 6 and further comprising planarizing a top surface of the filledtrench.
 8. The method of claim 1 and further comprising: depositing aphotoresist over the insulating layer; and patterning the photoresistwith a mask; wherein removing portions of the insulating layer comprisesetching the insulating layer using the photoresist as a mask.
 9. Themethod of claim 1 wherein growing a semiconductor material comprisesperforming a selective epitaxial process.
 10. The method of claim 1wherein forming a device comprises forming a transistor.
 11. The methodof claim 10 wherein forming a device comprises forming a MOS transistor.12. A method of forming a semiconductor device without using a shallowtrench isolation process, the method comprising: forming a plurality ofrecesses in a top surface of a silicon body; forming an insulating layerover said top surface of said silicon body, said insulating layerfilling said recesses; etching a plurality of trenches in the insulatinglayer and to define remaining portions of said insulating layer, each ofsaid trenches extending to the semiconductor body so as to exposeportions of the top surface of said silicon body, between two adjacentones of said plurality of said recesses, and said remaining portionsextending a selected thickness above said top surface of said siliconbody; epitaxially growing silicon to fill the trenches, defined by saidremaining portions; bridging an interface formed between the siliconbody and the silicon epitaxially grown over said silicon body with saidremaining portions of said insulating layer; and planarizing a topsurface of the filled trenches.
 13. The method of claim 12 and furthercomprising forming a transistor device in one of the silicon filledtrenches.
 14. The method of claim 12 wherein forming an insulating layercomprises forming an oxide layer.
 15. The method of claim 14 whereinforming an insulating layer comprises depositing an oxide using a highdensity plasma process.
 16. The method of claim 14 wherein forming aninsulating layer comprises depositing an oxide using a TEOS precursorgas.
 17. The method of claim 14 wherein forming an insulating layercomprises forming a nitride layer.